We are writing on behalf of Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party
to join countless others around the world in expressing our condolences on
the death of Comrade Fidel Castro and our solidarity with the Cuban people.

Fidel Castro’s courage and leadership were critical to the early struggle
for socialism in our hemisphere. The victory of the Cuban Revolution over
the U.S.-backed Batista regime struck an enormous blow for the liberation of
the Cuban people and continues today as a hallmark in the anti-imperialist
struggle for self-determination. We can never forget how he stood up to the
overlords of the US, inspiring oppressed people all over the world to
believe we could overcome the most powerful obstacles in the world.

We believe that there are many ways to pay tribute to Fidel. One is to
continue to fight here in the U.S., the heartland of world imperialism, for
a socialist world. We certainly will continue to do this. We also believe it
is important to defend the gains of the Cuban Revolution, especially now
that the US imperialism is poised to overthrow them, not with arms but using
the weapons of neoliberalism. We fear for Cuba, knowing what the people of
the Soviet Union hoped for with the advent of perestroika and the ugly,
capitalist reality that followed, destroying virtually every victory of the
Russian Revolution. But we also know that Cuban women and men are resilient,
and we, for our part, will do whatever we can to stand with you as is our
internationalist duty.

Cuba’s history and the victories of the revolution are still a touchstone
for the international struggle for socialism. We are proud to have had the
opportunity to work with the Federation of Cuban Woman during the enormous
challenges of the Special Period in the wake of the fall of the USSR.
Especially we remember with great warmth, Radical Women’s International
Feminist Brigade to the island in 1997 which openly defied the criminal U.S.
blockade. We came home from the brigade more committed than ever to fighting
for a socialist U.S.